Pune based Entrepreneur and co-founder of Ek Titli, Vaibhav Dugar, On promoting and enabling sustainable living.

With the hottest colour-code being green, YourStory.in catches up with a Pune based ‘green solutions’ provider. Ek Titli comes to your rescue when you decide to turn to sustainable living. We find out how from Vaibhav Dugar, Co-founder of Ek Titli

What is the idea behind Ek Titli?

Ek Titli is a facilitator for the change that we are all hoping for, as far as environment is concerned. We act as the mediator when it comes to providing cleaner or greener solutions.

What exactly are the services that Ek Titli offers?

We know that we need to go Green to see a cleaner future. We also know that every individual has to play a role in that and shoulder the responsibility. However, most of the times people are clueless as to how, where and when. That's where Ek Titli steps in. It guides through the ways as to how an individual, company, organizations, etc can take various steps to move towards a sustainable future.

From growing own food, to creating organic farms and promoting renewable energy; Ek Titli does it all. The umbrella of services will increase as we grow and expand, making Ek Titli an integrated solution provider in the Green & Clean Tech space.

We also have a very active blog that focuses on the ‘Do-Gooders’ in the green space. We thus give a platform to those who are doing their bit for the environment conservation.

How did you decide upon the name, Ek Titli?

It was the year 2008 when I was trying to figure out ways that could quench my thirst for doing something substantial for a cleaner environment. One evening, sitting on the window sill, I realised I had to give my thoughts a name, something very Indian, that resonates with the common man and has a ‘nature’ feel to it. The first name that came into my mind was, Ek Titli!

How did you manage funding when you started out?

So far, we are self funded. It's the savings we made during our working years that has helped us get to where we stand today. Plus, we try to cut down on operating costs. We started out from a small garage in Pune from where we still function, only that we call it “The Hive”.

You and your partner were engineering graduates and you had a lucrative job that you quit to start Ek Titli. Was it difficult?

Yes, definitely it has been a difficult time personally for Bhavik Kaul and me. But that’s the story of every start up. Perseverance and hard work always pays and we are slowly seeing the fruits to our efforts :)

How do you promote your organization?

We have a healthy list of ardent followers online(Facebook and Twitter) that are helping us in our work. Awareness is the key, and the online media helps us spread it. Also, a lot of effort goes into on ground activities such as associations, partnerships, events, etc that help us build a user base and to find the right patrons who are Green conscious.

This being your first entrepreneurial venture, what are your key learnings so far?

There are several lessons that we have learnt since the inception. To name a few: perseverance, pin point focus and to not get over-whelmed at the first round of success. Failure is a must have. We come out stronger with every stumble. Also, faith & belief is the biggest learning for us at Ek Titli. It's our high octane fuel that keeps us 'flying' each day.

So you are confident that the future is bright?

I am confident that the future is Green :)

We at YourStory.in are really excited for Ek Titli and will keep a track of it’s progress. Meanwhile, you check out http://www.ektitli.org and give some thought to sustainable living. Please write to us about your thoughts on this idea at [email protected]